To avoid iodine dissolution in electrolytes and the resultant shuttle effect in Na-I2 batteries, a chemo-physical synergistic strategy for iodine immobilization is proposed based on a 3D porous compound formulated as Cu3(OH)2V2O7·2H2O (CuVO). After low-temperature annealing, the dehydrated sample, D-CuVO, becomes amorphous, but maintains the original host skeleton. After H2O2-treatment, D-CuVO recovers to the crystalline phase, and the order-disorder conversion is associated with valence variation. After incorporation of iodine, CuI is detected in D-CuVO@I2, and the cycled D-CuVO@I2 can restore to the original crystalline D-CuVO after H2O2-treatment, indicating the reversible transformation of D-CuVO + 1/2 I2 ↔ CuI + Cu-deficient D-CuVO during cycling. This is related to abundant Cu-O-Cu linkages and short Cu ··· Cu distances in D-CuVO, which can stabilize the framework of D-CuVO in the presence of a Cu defect. Furthermore, I- can be reversibly adsorbed/desorbed on the CuI (111) surface. Additionally, a new NaVO3 host phase appears in the discharge process, which originates from partial irreversible intercalation of Na+ into D-CuVO. The inner channel of the NaVO3 host phase can physically accommodate iodine. D-CuVO@I2 shows excellent electrochemical performance in Na-I2 batteries.

In order to solve the dissolution and shuttle effect of iodine/iodide in Na-I2 batteries, Cu/organic species cointercalated vanadium oxide Cux(org)0.19V2O5 (Cu-org-VO) microsheets decorated with low-valent CuIO nanoparticles (NPs) are designated as iodine hosts. During the hydrothermal synthesis, m-phenylenediamine was converted into an aromatic N-heterocyclic species (org) and inserted into the layered vanadium oxide, improving electron conductivity. The expanded interlayer spacing of Cu-org-VO with variable-valence V can confine I2 physically and activate I-I bonds. Moreover, the V → O → Cu electron transfer in the Cu-org-VO/CuO heterostructure can stabilize low-valent CuIO NPs and inhibit their aggregation. And this heterostructure can be in situ transformed into the Cu-org-VO/CuI heterostructure after iodine loading. Impressively, due to the interactions within the heterostructure and CuI-induced potential reversals, the reactions of Cu0 + 1/2I2 ↔ CuI and Cu2++ Cu0 + 2I- ↔ 2 CuI can occur spontaneously to achieve the synergistic redox of copper and iodine with improved kinetics. And this strategy of "physical confinement", "chemical conversion" and "synergistic redox" can immobilize iodine physicochemically and accomplish multielectron transfer of Cu/I/V, leading to a coupled battery with a high voltage output, but circumventing the generation of unstable high-valent iodine species.

Sodium-iodine batteries offer high voltage and theoretical capacity but suffer from iodine dissolution, shuttle effect, and sluggish kinetics. This work develops a porous Cu/Ni-Mo metal-organic framework (MOF) formulated as CuIINiII(4,4'-bpy) (MoVIO4)2 (4,4'-bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine) that addresses these challenges through a synergistic mechanism. The material's channels can physically confine iodine via hydrogen bonds, while copper sites facilitate chemical immobilization via the reversible conversion CuNi(4,4'-bpy)(MoO4)2 + (x/2) I2 = Cu1-xNi(4,4'-bpy)(MoO4)2 + x CuI, with an energy barrier of 0.45 eV. The structural stability of the Cu-vacant MOF is associated with its rigid multinuclear {Cu2Ni2} clusters and abundant Mo-O-M (M= Ni, Cu) linkages. Impressively, some specific crystalline planes of the MOF undergo reversible order-disorder transitions during charge-discharge processes. These dynamic transformations are related to the adsorption of I2 on the Mo/Ni centers and the lattice O2- of these surfaces, promoting I-I bond elongation and cleavage, significantly enhancing iodine redox kinetics. Consequently, the as-fabricated Na-I2 battery shows a capacity of ∼250 mAh g-1 at 0.3 A g-1 with capacity retention (∼100 mAh g-1) over 1000 cycles at 2 A g-1.

In order to avoid irreversible phase conversions, oxygen release and structural degradation at high voltages in sodium-ion battery (SIB) cathodes, we synthesized topotactic syntopogenous multiphase superlattices of Crdoped Na2.24V1.76F6 (Cr-NaVF), in which NaVF3, Na3VF6 and Na3CrF6 possess the same unit cell with some lattice positions simultaneously occupied by Na, V and Cr with different occupancy. The perovskite-type NaVF3 can provide channels for Na+ migration. And the Na-enriched Na3VF6 facilitates electron transfer. Most interestingly, Cr-NaVF exhibits an increasing capacity with an unprecedented value of - 300mAh/g and excellent retention over 10,000 cycles in the range of 1.0 - 4.2 V, which is associated with the topotactic phase transformations of Na3VIIIF6 <-> NaVIIF3 and Na3VIIIF6/NaVIIF3 -> Na3VVO2F4 /NaVIIIOF2 during the charge /discharge process. The leaching of Cr into the electrolyte during the charge process leaves vacancies in the lattice, enabling the partial substitution of F by the O from the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or PVP-derived coating of Cr-NaVF, which weakens metal-F bonds, promotes Na+ transfer and offers extra molecular orbital energy levels, then motivating the multi-electron transfer of V2+ <-> V5+. This work proposes a novel tactic for achieving outstanding capacity and structural integrity at high voltages based on in situ generated superlattices of sodium vanadium fluorides/oxides and multi-electron redox mechanism triggered by charge compensation of anions.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) electroreduction to valuable chemicals is a promising approach for efficient carbon utilization. Herein, we propose an in situ electrochemical reconstruction method to regulate the selectivity of electroreduction of CO2 into CO or HCOOH using a copper sulfide-loaded copper foam (Cu2S/CF) self-supporting electrode. Cu2S/CF under the applied potential of-0.2 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (vs. RHE) maintain as the intial one, and Cu+ are partially reduced to Cu0 under the applied potential of-0.4 V vs. RHE forming vacancy S defects (VS) in Cu2S. Notably, the Cu2S/CF achieve a potential regulable electroreduction CO2 into CO with faradaic efficiency (FE) of 84.6 % at the applied potential of-0.2 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and HCOOH with FE of 81.6 % at-0.4 V vs. RHE. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the different CO2 adsorption configurations of catalytic centers resulting in the difference on the reduction products. Saturation Cu site on Cu2S surface favours to adsorb CO2 with end-on configuration of *COOH for CO production, and unsaturation Cu site on Cu2S-VS surface prefers to the bridge configuration of *O*COH for HCOOH synthesis.

Na-I 2 batteries have emerged as an appealing energy storage technology owing to high energy density and costeffectiveness. However, the practical application of Na-I 2 batteries faces the dissolution of iodide/polyiodide in the electrolyte during the charge/discharge process. Herein, we immobilize I 2 by utilization of NaSbF 4 (NSF)based solid-state electrolyte (SSE). Impressively, the Na + transport in NSF nanoparticles (NPs) is via the conversion reaction of NaSbF 4 + NaF <-> Na 2 SbF 5 , which is different from the acknowledged Na + diffusion mechanism via vacancies in inorganic SSEs. To improve the interfacial compatibility, a composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) is fabricated based on NSF, poly (vinylidene fluoride - hexafuoro -propylene) (PVDF-HFP) and NaClO 4 , giving rise to stable Na stripping/plating in Na|Na symmetric cell. Especially, the quasi -solid-state Na|NSF CPE | I 2 full cell shows an outstanding electrochemical behavior, which is associated with the partial reduction of ClO 4 - -> Cl - and the stabilization of I + by F - or Cl - in the charge/discharge process. The resultant I + -F - or I + -Cl - intermediate can promote the multi -electron transfer of 2I - -> I 2 -> 2I + , leading to enhanced capacity and mitigated shuttle effect of iodide. Meanwhile, the formation of I + -F - in turn weakens the interaction of Na & ctdot; F in NSF, which is beneficial for Na + transport.

In order to simultaneously accelerate ion and electron transfer in sodium-ion battery (SIB) cathodes, a topotactic superlattice was utilized, in which the atomically intrinsic lattice-matching effect from inner to external surface can boost the charge transfer due to the disappearance of the heterojunction interface. Herein, a topotactic syntopogenous Na3VF6/NaVF3 superlattice formulated as Na2.9V1.1F6 (NVF) was synthesized by a facile one-step low-temperature hydrothermal reaction. NVF nanoparticles show an excellent Na+ storage capacity (similar to 205 mAh g(-1)) in a high voltage window up to 4.2 V with ultralong cycling stability. That is associated with the mixed occupancy of V and Na in NVF. The multivalent V centers serve as electron reservoirs to inhibit phase transformation, and the Na-enriched Na3VF6 with better electron conductivity acts as a Na+ reservoir for effective electron transfer. Highly reversible (de)intercalation of Na+ is achieved in the channel of perovskite-type NaVF3 with structural integrity.

Sodium -iodine (Na-I 2 ) batteries are appealing electrochemical energy storage devices owing to the low cost and high energy density. However, they are constrained by shuttle effect due to the high solubility of iodine/iodide in electrolyte and the sluggish reaction kinetics of I 2 F iota 2I - . Accordingly, Na-I 2 batteries with superficial redox mechanism and superior rate capability almost seem impossible. Herein, a layered double hydroxide (LDH) formulated as Ni 2 Al(OH) 4.2 (CO 3 ) 1.4 .2H 2 O (NiAl-LDH) and an iodine -decorated LDH (NiAl-LDH-I 2 ) were synthesized. When used as the Na-I 2 battery cathode in the NaClO 4 electrolyte, NiAl-LDH-I 2 exhibits an increasing capacity, accompanied with a transformation from the (de)intercalation to the surface -controlled (pseudo) capacitive behavior. This is ascribed to irreversible reduction reaction of ClO 4 - -* Cl - and the formation of I + -Cl - on the LDH surface over an overcharge process. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the adsorbed I 2 and I-Cl both exhibit zigzag chain -like configurations, which are not easily intercalated into the interlayer space of NiAl-LDH, but can be anchored on the NiAl-LDH surface via multiple hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds can stabilize I + to boost the multi -electron redox reaction of 2I - F iota I 2 F iota 2I + . The adsorbed I 2 is activated by the electron transfer and the elongation of I -I bond, then fasten the reaction kinetics of I 2 F iota 2I - . Therefore, NiAl-LDH-I 2 shows outstanding rate capability and cycling performance with a large capacity of 310/ 210 mAh/g at 0.3/ 1.5 A/g and excellent capacity retention over 2700 cycles.

Lithium polysulfide (LiPS) shuttling is still the core issue in advancing Li-S battery technologies towards high-power and fast-charging commercialized application. In this work, we demonstrate a confined catalysis of LiPSs by a functionalized separator to suppress shuttling and to improve the high rate capability and cycling stability. An oxygenated carbon nitride (OCN)-supported ZnSe-SnSe2 heterostructure (ZnSe-SnSe2@OCN) was designed for the functionalized separator. The ZnSe-SnSe2@OCN functionalized separator gives a high specific capacity of 609 mA h g-1 at 5 C, favorable cycling stability of 350 cycles at 1 C with a decay rate of 0.11% and coulombic efficiency of 98.6%. It also produces low voltage hysteresis (similar to 17 mV) after 600 h of cycling without significant voltage fluctuations in a Li|Li symmetric cell. The experimental evidence and density functional theory calculations reveal that the bimetallic ZnSe-SnSe2 sites regulate the density of states at the Fermi level and provide Se-Li, Zn-S and Sn-S chemical bonding interface for LiPS adsorption confinement. This work provides a viable functionalized separator solution for future high-rate Li-S batteries.

Via a facile one-step hydrothermal method, it was synthesized (m-BQ)(0.15)V2O5 center dot 0.5H(2)O (m-BQ = m-benzoquinone) (denoted as (m-BQ)-VO) three-dimensional (3D) porous hierarchical microflowers, which possesses a large (0 0 1) lattice spacing of 13.7 angstrom with crystalline vacancies and disorders on the (00l) facets. Rietveld refinement and high-angle annular dark field-scanning transmission election microscopy (HAADF-STEM) of (m-BQ)-VO unveil that the successful intercalation of m-BQ into layered V2O5 leads to the elongation of V-O bonds. As a result, the V centers of the sample are unsaturated with structural oxygen vacancies, and the V-O-V bilayer is split into two V-O-V monolayers with the (001) facet as the division plane. Consequently, upon lower-temperature annealing, the dehydrated sample can deliver a high initial capacity of 252 mAh/g at 0.05 A/g with excellent capacity retentions of 90 % over 210 cycles at 0.1 A/g, and 87 % over 2100 cycles at 2 A/g, respectively, in which no apparent phase change is observed. It is associated with the large interlayer channel with a lower Na+ migration barrier of 0.48 eV. And the anchoring effect of layered V-O-V framework can prevent the leaching of m-BQ into electrolyte. Furthermore, the redox-active m-BQ can provide extra capacity, whose affinity towards Na+ can induce the partial inclusion of Na+ ions in the sample even only immersion in Na+ solution undisturbed under room temperature, giving rise to improved electron conductivity and a facile approach to pre-sodiation, as evidenced by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

11530 Background: The treatment of metastatic or unresectable osteosarcoma after standard chemotherapy remains a significant clinical challenge. Connexin 43 (Cx43) hemichannel has been suggested to be a key regulator of bone homeostasis and represents a new target for bone and breast cancer. ALMB-0168, a first-in-class therapeutic antibody agonist for Cx43 hemichannel, has been shown to suppress the growth and migration of osteosarcoma and breast cancer bone metastases in preclinical studies. Methods: Patients ≥16 years with histologically confirmed osteosarcoma who progressed after standard chemotherapy were eligible. This study consists of accelerated titration followed by a 3+3 design with 7 planned ALMB-0168 dose levels (1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 mg/kg) administered intravenously once every 3 weeks and then dose expansion at the potential recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). Primary endpoints are safety and tolerability. Adverse events are rated according to the NCI CTCAE v5.0. Key secondary endpoints are overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) assessed using RECIST v1.1. Results: As of August 21, 2022, 14 patients (10 males, 4 females) with median age 27.5 years (range 16–38 years) were enrolled; ECOG PS was 0 in 7 patients (50.0%), 1 in 6 patients (42.9%) and 2 in 1 patient (7.1%). 5 patients received ≥2 prior lines of therapy. Six dose levels (1-24 mg/kg) have been completed in this ongoing study with no dose-limiting toxicities reported. Treatment related adverse events (TRAEs) of any grade occurred in 10 (71.4%) patients and were Grade 3 in 1 patient (infectious pneumonia); no events were Grade 4 or 5. Common TRAEs ( > 10%) were proteinuria (21.4%), anemia (21.4%), hematuria (14.3%), and increased aspartate aminotransferase (14.3%). No Cx43-related cardiac events or severe hepatic events were observed. A total of 13 patients were evaluable for response. ORR was 15.4% (2/13, 95% CI: 1.9–45.5%), including 2 partial responses (PR), 1 patient each at 6 mg/kg and 18 mg/kg. The patient at 6 mg/kg, who had ≥3 prior lines of therapy and lung metastases, achieved durable disease control with stable disease (SD) for 33 weeks followed by PR for 8+ weeks (at the time of analysis). The DCR was 53.8% (7/13, 95% CI: 25.1–80.8%) with 2 PRs and 5 SDs. Conclusions: ALMB-0168 demonstrated encouraging efficacy and tolerable safety in patients with metastatic or unresectable osteosarcoma after standard chemotherapy in a phase 1 dose-escalation trial. Dose escalation is ongoing and dose expansion will start at the potential RP2D levels. Clinical trial information: NCT04886765 .

Osteosarcoma is one of the most common primary malignant bone tumors, however, the current diagnostic methods based on tissue biopsy suffers from invasive operation, high heterogeneity and non-early diagnosis. Herein, we proposed a new liquid biopsy method using triple signal amplification-based electrochemical biosensor (E-sensor) in detection of serum cf-miR-181b closely related to osteosarcoma. The E-sensor adopted an enzyme-linked DNA magnetic microbead (MMB), in which the miR-181b-triggered ligase chain reaction products were immobilized onto the surface of MMB followed by the attraction of horseradish peroxidase, to produce a catalytic current on the electrode surface. The E-sensor could detect miR-181b as low as 6.70 aM with a single-base resolution. Finally, the E-sensor was applied to detect serum cf-miR-181b in different individuals, which exhibited excellent performance in discriminating serum miR-181b between control group (healthy people/non-osteosarcoma patients) and osteosarcoma patients. Also, this assay could be used to distinguish the osteosarcoma patients before and after effective chemotherapy. In parallel, all results were in good agreement with that obtained by qRT-PCR. Therefore, the proposed E-sensor, due to its low cost, easy miniaturization and generalization, holds a huge application potential in the early auxiliary diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of osteosarcoma and is of great value in clinical translation.

Magnesium has been doped into the B-site of BaBi0.25Pb0.75O3-delta to form a solid solution Ba (Bi0.25Pb0.75)(1-x)MgxO3-delta (0 <= x <= 0.10) by solid-state reaction. The X-ray, neutron, and selected area electron diffraction are used to confirm that this solid solution crystallizes in triclinic space group P1. The unit cell volume of Ba(Bi0.25Pb0.75)(1-x)MgxO3-delta increases with Mg, which is surprising because the radius of Mg2+ is smaller than any radius of Bi3+, Bi5+, Pb2+, and Pb4+. XPS and iodometric titration data of samples show that the oxygen vacancies increase with Mg in Ba(Bi0.25Pb0.75)(1-x)MgxO3-delta. The increased oxygen vacancies result in increase of Bi3+:Bi5+ and Pb2+:Pb4+ ratios, which is the utmost possible reason for unit cell volume increase. They are all superconductors with T-C(zero) (the highest temperature at which the electrical resistivity becomes "zero") between 11.2 and 9.2 K.

Sarcoma is a malignant tumor originating from mesenchymal tissue with a poor prognosis. Atypical chemokine receptor 1 (ACKR1) is found closely related to cancer progression. However, the effects of ACKR1 in soft tissue sarcoma have not been well investigated. Therefore, our present study is devoted to analyze the functions of ACKR1 in sarcoma progression and its potential mechanism. We detected the expression of ACKR1 in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-pan-cancer database, TCGA-Sarcoma from TCGA databases, and GSE21122 from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The relationships between ACKR1 expression, clinicopathological data, and survival status were evaluated in the TCGA-Sarcoma database. Moreover, overexpression negative control (OE-NC) and overexpression ACKR1 (OE-ACKR1) were used to further verify the effects of ACKR1 overexpression in the progression of sarcoma cells by using Reverse Transcription-Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR), cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-Ethyny-2'-Deoxyuridine (EdU), wound healing, transwell assay, and flow cytometry assays. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analyses were carried out to explore the potential enriched biological process of ACKR1 expression in sarcoma. Furthermore, tumor-immune system interactions databases (TISIDB) were applied to further confirm the relations between ACKR1 and tumor immune microenvironment in sarcoma. Our study found that ACKR1 is downregulated in multiple cancers (including sarcoma), and low expression of ACKR1 is related to poor survival status in sarcoma. The biological experiments found that promoting expression of ACKR1 can suppress sarcoma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, promote cell apoptosis, and arrest cell cycle. The GO-KEGG, GSEA, and TISIDB analysis showed that ACKR1 is related to the tumor immune microenvironment. In conclusion, low expression of ACKR1 presented as an independent prognostic biomarker in sarcoma. Overexpression of ACKR1 can significantly suppress cell progression ability in sarcoma by regulating the immune microenvironment.

It was synthesized oxygen-deficient (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO formulated as (1, 2, 3-BQ)(0.25)V2O5 center dot 0.5H(2)O (BQ = benzo-quinone) via a facile one-step hydrothermal technique. Continuous rotation electron diffraction (cRED), Rietveld refinement and spherical aberration-corrected transmission election microscopy unravel the successful pre -intercalation of the BQ organic species into the layered vanadium oxide, in which two neighboring V-O-V monolayers are observed with the (001) facet as the division plane. (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO possesses a good electro-chemical property in 3 M Zn(CF3SO3)(2). And in the electrolyte with Al3+, it shows improved rate capability and remarkably enhanced cycling performance. Its average capacity is up to an unprecedented value of 446/400 mAh/g at 0.2/1 A/g with a capacity retention exceeding 100 % over 550 cycles at 1 A/g (411 mAh/g), which is associated with the dynamic reversible conversion between disorder and order on the (001) facets. The inserted Al3+ into the inner channel of (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO during the discharge process, not only acts as the interlayer pillar to prevent the collapse of the layered structure, but also can improve the crystallinity of the charged (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO sample due to the more ordered atomic arrays from the interlayer (00l) facets. And the dual pillars of BQ and Al3+ in the sample can boost the exposure of active sites, thus enhance the storage capacity. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations disclose a small Zn2+ diffusion barrier of 0.85 eV in (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO. Moreover, it is found that the electrolyte with Al3+ is not only beneficial for the modification of the (1, 2, 3-BQ)-VO cathode, but also can inhibit the Zn dendrite formation at the Zn anode.

The potassium and lanthanum co-doped superconducting series with composition Ba1-xLax/4K3x/4(Bi0.25Pb0.75) O3-delta where (0.00 <= x <= 0.40) has been synthesized by solid state reaction. Their crystal structure and super-conducting properties has been investigated in detail. All the synthesized samples crystallize in P1 space group as confirmed by the X-ray diffraction analysis. All the samples show sharp superconductivity transitions as confirmed from electrical resistivity measurements. Significantly the T-c(onset) (the highest temperature at which the electrical resistivity decreases abruptly) ranges from 11.4 to 11.8 K and T-c(zero) (the highest temperature at which the electrical resistivity becomes zero) ranges from 10.7 to 11.2 K.

One key reason for T cell exhaustion is continuous antigen exposure. Early exhausted T cells can reverse exhaustion and differentiate into fully functional memory T cells if removed from persisting antigen stimulation. Therefore, this study viewed T cell exhaustion as an over-activation status induced by chronic antigen stimuli. This study hypothesized that blocking TCR signal intermittently to terminate over-activation signal can defer the developmental process of T cell exhaustion. In this study, melanoma-bearing mice were treated with tacrolimus (FK506) every 5 days. The tumor size and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were analyzed. We found that intermittent administration of tacrolimus significantly inhibited tumor growth, and this effect was mediated by CD8+T cells. Intermittent tacrolimus treatment facilitated the infiltration of CD8+TILs. RNA-seq and quantitative RT-PCR of sorted CD8+TILs showed the expression of Nr4a1 (an exhaustion-related transcription factor) and Ctla4 (a T cell inhibitory receptor) was remarkably downregulated. These results indicated that intermittently blocking TCR signal by tacrolimus can promote anti-tumor immunity and inhibit the tumor growth in melanoma-bearing mice, inhibiting the transcription of several exhaustion-related genes, such as Nr4a1 and Ctla4.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the clinical effectiveness of conservative treatments including pharmacological treatments and nonpharmacological treatments on patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods: We searched six electronic databases systematically for randomized clinical trials published between January 2000 and July 2021, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane library. The studies focused on the therapeutic effects of pharmacological treatments including calcitonin, antiepileptics, neurotrophic drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Chinese Traditional Medicine, limaprost, and nonpharmacological treatments like physiotherapy for treating lumbar spinal stenosis were included. The outcome was measured using the visual analog scale, Oswestry Dysfunction Index, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score, and EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionnaire. The quality of eligible studies was assessed by using the Cochrane recommended bias risk assessment tool. Stata was used to conduct the network meta-analysis. Results: A total of 12 randomized control trials with 1,194 patients were included. The network meta-analysis showed that for the visual analog scale, a better therapeutic effect was noted while using Chinese Traditional Medicine and physiotherapy, followed by analgesics drugs and limaprost. Limaprost and calcitonin were better in decreasing the Oswestry Dysfunction Index. In terms of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score, the use of traditional Chinese Medicine and limaprost were associated with a better improvement than other treatments. Meanwhile, limaprost combined with analgesics drugs was found to be effective to improve the EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionnaire. Conclusion: Among the commonly used conservative treatments for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, limaprost may have better efficacy in improving the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score and decreasing the Oswestry Dysfunction Index, with a beneficial effect on decreasing the visual analog scale and improving the EuroQol Five Dimensions Questionnaire. Systematic Review Registration: website, identifier registration number.

Lowering the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) has extensively stimulated the development of new oxide ion conductors. Here, inspired by the structural commonalities of oxide ion conductors, the inability to accommodate oxygen vacancies in the rigid, isolated, 3-fold tetrahedral rings of SrSi/GeO 3 -based materials, and the considerable flexibility of BO n polyhedra in terms of coordination number, rotation, deformation, and linkage, we report the first borate-base family of oxide ion conductors, (Gd/Y) 1− x Zn x BO 3−0.5 x , through combined computational prediction and experimental verification. The oxygen vacancies in (Gd/Y)BO 3 can be accommodated by forming B 3 O 8 units in isolated, 3-fold, tetrahedral rings of B 3 O 9 and transported through a cooperative mechanism of oxygen exchange between the B 3 O 9 and B 3 O 8 units, which is assisted by the intermediate opening and extending of these units. This study opens a new scientific field of the borate system for designing and discovering oxide ion conductors.

The discovery of the homometry of X-ray diffraction dates back to the 1930s and shows the ambiguity in structure characterization purely from diffraction technologies. Since then, there has only been limited discussion on this topic with reference to several real structures and an efficient method for finding homometric structures for a known three-dimensional structure is still lacking today. In this work, a method was developed to create a set of structures with the same interatomic distances as an original structure, which can then be identified as powder X-ray diffraction or single-crystal X-ray diffraction homometric structures. This method was applied to the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) and homometric structures for 37 reported structures were found. Also it was found that homometric structures are encountered frequently in solving crystal structures when building initial models with only heavy atoms, which indicates that special caution is needed in interpreting XRD data with heavy-atom methods.